> But if you ban honest citizens from using Signal, will criminals stop using secure communications? No, they have an unusually strong incentive to use them and will seek out alternatives.
This has been a 2nd Amendment argument for ages: "If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns."
It has been a 2nd Amendment argument for ages because it's tautologically true.
It correctly identifies that the proponents need to justify the cost from substantially all law-abiding citizens following the law against the benefit from only the law-abiding criminals following it.
And say what you will about the benefits of law-abiding citizens carrying firearms, but if you want to seriously dispute the benefits of law-abiding citizens using encryption, try convincing a credit card company to let you accept credit cards on your website without encrypting the traffic.
This has been a 2nd Amendment argument for ages: "If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns."